A shooting was reported on I-84 east in Hartford Friday morning. (Chris Z/iWitness photo)

The vehicle that was reportedly on fire was a van. (WFSB photo)

(DOT photo)

HARTFORD, CT (WFSB) -

Interstate 84 in Hartford was closed for hours on Friday after police said he shot himself following a car fire on the highway.

Troopers were called to a van fire on the eastbound side of the I-84 in the area of exit 46 just after 10:30 a.m. Upon arrival, police said they found a Bristol man with a gun outside of the van and walking eastbound.

When two members of the Hartford Fire Department as well as three Connecticut State Troopers approached him and tried to talk to him, police said the man shot himself.

"When they got there they saw a man walking eastbound with a fire arm," Trooper Tyler Weerden said. "They attempted to make contact with him however he shot himself."

The man, whose name was not released by police, was rushed to St. Francis hospital. Police said the man is alive after being treated for the self-inflicted gunshot wound.

State police said there was no officer-involved shooting. They said an individual was shot himself. State police said the man was not threatening. He had been walking near the van with the gun in his hand.

Eyewitnesses reported a "popping" noise coming from the back of the van during the fire. It's not clear what sparked the fire.

"At the time of the initial incident there were also reports of suspected gunfire in the area at the time. It is currently unknown if those reports were in fact gunfire, ammunition in the vehicle exploding or the sound of vehicle components exploding due to the fire," state police said in a statement on Friday.

"Due to the nature of this incident and out of an abundance of caution," police said "an explosives ordinance robot" was used to search the van before firefighters could put out the fire.

Hartford police said a gun has been secured and that the scene is safe.

The backup was said to be several miles long. Eyewitness News spoke to travelers stuck in the traffic, many of whom saw the flames shooting out of the van.

"We just saw some smoke and we looked up and there was a van engulfed in flames," said Ron Pitz, an eyewitness. "We didn't really know what was going on. There seemed to be police everywhere. So we figured that it wasn't just a van fire. Something else was happening."

The westbound side was also shut down, but briefly. Traffic on that side remained slow-going around 10:50 a.m. It picked back up a short time later.

State police also said they were rerouting commuters on the on and off ramps in the area. They said the traffic is a mess.

Technical Discussion

Monday will be bright and chilly. High temperatures will be in the mid to upper 30s in inland sections and lower 40s along the shore. A cell of high pressure will move overhead, and then to the east of the region today and will be the dominating factor in the weather, thus promising the quieter spell.

Monday will be bright and chilly. High temperatures will be in the mid to upper 30s in inland sections and lower 40s along the shore. A cell of high pressure will move overhead, and then to the east of the region today and will be the dominating factor in the weather, thus promising the quieter spell.

This Sept. 24, 2017, photo provided by Michael Kass shows Yann Arnaud during a Cirque du Soleil performance in Toronto. Arnaud died early Sunday, March 18, 2018, after falling while performing during a show on Saturday in Tampa, Fla. (Michael Kass via AP)

A Cirque du Soleil performer died Saturday night after he fell during a performance in Tampa, Florida.

Nearly two weeks after 16-year-old Amy Yu vanished with 45-year-old Kevin Esterly, the pair was found Saturday in Mexico and the man was arrested, authorities say. (Allentown Police Department)

Nearly two weeks after a 16-year-old Pennsylvania girl vanished with a 45-year-old man, the pair was found Saturday in Mexico and the man was arrested, authorities say. Amy Yu was "unharmed and in good health."

Nearly two weeks after a 16-year-old Pennsylvania girl vanished with a 45-year-old man, the pair was found Saturday in Mexico and the man was arrested, authorities say. Amy Yu was "unharmed and in good health."

Technical Discussion

THE FINAL DAY OF SPRING… Some overnight cloud cover prevented temperatures this morning from going as cold as they could have, if the sky would’ve been clear. Now that they’re eroding, the rest of the day will be mostly sunny. After starting out in the 20s and low 30s, temperatures will peak in the upper 30s and lower 40s this afternoon – well below the average high of 49!

THE FINAL DAY OF SPRING… Some overnight cloud cover prevented temperatures this morning from going as cold as they could have, if the sky would’ve been clear. Now that they’re eroding, the rest of the day will be mostly sunny. After starting out in the 20s and low 30s, temperatures will peak in the upper 30s and lower 40s this afternoon – well below the average high of 49!